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New Back Doors: 2008

Europe still holds Back Door destinations — off-beat nooks and crannies that are short on crowds and long on culture. Or an activity can be a Back Door: a festival no tourist seems to know about, a sporting event you can join, a local language class. What's your best Back Door discovery or experience?

Cinque Terre - Angelo's Boat Tours
If you are headed to Cinque Terre, an absolute MUST DO is Angelo's Boat Tour. It was by far the most memorable part of our trip to Italy. Once you step aboard their quaint and cozy boat, all of your worries are left behind. Angelo (born and raised in Cinque Terre) and Paula (his American wife) are the most lovely hosts, and by the end of your time with them, friends. We headed out on the boat, and first anchored at a beautiful spot. We jumped in for a swim and when we stepped back on to the boat, Paula had the most delicious plates of food prepared for us as well as glasses of Prosecco. As we were drying off and moving to our next spot, we sipped Prosecco, engaged in lovely conversation, and enjoyed the food – an amazing frittata, fresh cheeses, a meat that Paula had cured herself, marinated carrots, etc – all just wonderful. We then arrived at our next destination – a private cove with a natural waterfall. Here we swam, explored a cave and just enjoyed life. When we arrived back on the boat, we were again met with more amazing food – fresh fish Angelo had caught, a delicious green beans salad – all so fresh and flavorful. The conversation and laughter continued through the rest of the day. Then it was of course time for dessert and a stop in Vernazza for espresso and gelato. It was a day that we did not want to end...gorgeous scenery, great company and conversation, gourmet food, inviting waters, and not a worry in sight...
C Guest
Hoboken, NJ   USA  Mon 11/24/2008

Otztal and Pitztal valleys in the Tirol
Try the Pitztal and Otztal valleys. Beautiful, long, spectacularly beautiful valleys that are situated north/south from the main Inn Valley in the Tirol's. Definitely short on tourists in September, but lots of great hiking, amazing glaciers and wonderful towns and villages. Accomodation is plentiful, and not very expensive.
S. Hoyles
Prince George, BC   CAN  Thu 10/09/2008

Iceland
Does anyone have info on Iceland?
Jonathan D <email>
East Islip, NY   USA  Wed 10/01/2008

Southern Italy's Hidden Gems!
The blacksmiths valley behind Amalfi and Ravello are absolutely incredible. Our tour guide took us on a walk/hike up and down the valley to the most beautiful waterfalls, farmhouses, lemon orchards, and old paper mills. Incredible. www.WalkingWithTheGods.com or phone 3296422637. We also got the Naples underground and off the beaten path tour with the same guide. Great finds, perfect English.
Lili Adeli
Boulder, CO   USA  Thu 09/11/2008

FYI small towns in Eastern Germany are still a bit quaint
USA  Mon 09/01/2008

stone circles- Avebury England
Avebury is a must for UK bound tourists who really want to enjoy this phenomena. RS writes about it, you will need a car to get there but you will not be disappointed it is wonderful and has few visitors.
JS
USA  Fri 08/15/2008

The standing stones of Callanish
The standing stones on Callanish in the Outer Herbrides, Isle of Lewis is anastonishing destination if you can make it. The ferry from mainland Scotland is easy enough, however bus service to the stones is less frequent. I had luck hitching a ride with a local who was very friendly indeed. The stone circle is more impressive than any other I've visited in the UK. I spent several hours around the stones and saw not a single person. Unlike Stonehenge, you are allowed to walk amongst the stones, touch them, sit, whatever... Ther is also a tea room and post office close by. A remarkable remnant of the Celtic past.
Steve
Big Eagle , KY   USA  Fri 08/01/2008

A portrait by Michelangelo in Florence
An Italian family I was staying with suggested I go to Piazza Della Signoria and look for a portrait by Michelangelo. It is on a rock that is apart of the building right behind the copy of the statue of David, it is a little to the right of the statue, close to the corner of the building. As a warning to the citizens,Florence commissioned Michelangelo to carve this porfile of a criminal who had been executed. I still haven't been able to find out who the man was, or what his crime was. It is so crazy so many people walk by it every day and don't even know that it is there, no one looks past the statue of David. Many locals don't even know it is there.
USA  Sat 07/26/2008

Vironay, Normandy, Giverny
Vironay is on a secondaty highway between Rouen and Giverney, along the Seine. There is a left hand turn (going up river) to a church and a exceptional overlook on a broad bend of the river. This highway is a pleasant way to get from Rouen to Vernon and Giverney without the congestion of the toll road and access to it.
Chatham H. Reed <email>
Shreveport, La. 71104, La.   USA  Mon 07/14/2008

Poland
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Vienna, where he presented at a conference. Since we were going all that way, we had decided to visit the part of Poland that used to be Prussia, with the help of a genealogy tour guide, to see where my husband's ancestors lived. My husband wrote a news release for the local small-town newspaper, which our guide translated into Polish and sent to the editor. The headline was "Help Find This Family."

We visited Ostrzeszów and several very small villages around it. The best back-door experience we had was stopping for rolls & ham at a neighborhood grocery store. Right there, next to the cash register, was the newspaper with our story on the front page. Our guide pointed out that "this story is about us." The clerk said to check with the old school teacher across the street, since she might remember some names and places. We checked with her and she pointed us to several local farmers. They, in turn, gave other suggestions and information. We eventually found the farm that had belonged to the family of my husband's great-grandmother. There were two houses on the property, one of which was vacant. The owner smiled and told us it was for sale.
Charlotte
Vermillion, SD   USA  Sat 07/12/2008

Lascaux Cave Art near Sarlat France
I discovered a new, easy, and inexpensive way to get to Lascaux II cave art from Sarlat France. There is a new bus service (line 6) in the Summer (July 7 - August 30, 2008) months. Line 604 to Lascaux II leaves Sarlot about 12:30 each day from across the street from the Post Office. It stops near the Lascaux reception center. Line 607 to Souillac returns at 1645 from Lascaux II arriving in Sarlat about 17:45. Visitors can (and should) buy a ticket for the tour from the bus driver. They can not be purchased at the cave. Bus fare is 2 Euros each way and the ticket is 12.50 for the 1410 tour in French. Fortunately we were able to gain permission to tag along on the 1400 tour in English since it was under subscribed (barely.) Maybe the driver could be persuaded to write up the ticket for 1400 but I doubt it. The tourist office was very helpful, but not fully knowledgeable on this trip. The key is to get the bus schedule from them which explains all, in French, but even I could deduce it's message. The cave is very much worth a visit. The cave though it is a reproduction is fully credible, and left me with the certainty that creating cathedral like spaces and a compelling need for artistic expression are much a part of who we are. Lascacax is in a pleasant forested setting with a fully stocked gift store and outlying cottage with decent machine snacks. The hour ride through the countryside was most pleasant as well. Visitors should double check this with the well staffed Tourist Office.
Jerry Hall <email>
Grass Valley, Ca   USA  Fri 07/11/2008

Sabbioneta, Italy
Sabbioneta, Italy - while driving from Italy to Germany our GPS took us on the back roads north of Parma. Literally at a traffic light we saw Sabbioneta, a walled city, uncrowded and almost no tourists. We stopped for about an hour, enjoyed the best gelato anywhere in Italy (peach!) and had fantastic pastries in a little shop on the main square. Though our visit was brief, it was wonderful, and we enjoyed the early morning quiet in a beautiful "back door". The other great thing about our "detour" off the autostrada was stopping at several fruit stands along the way. We bought superb watermelon, tomatoes and nectarines, and enjoyed them at our destination in Germany. Stop in Sabbioneta for an uncrowded, non-touristy "back door" if you are in the area.
Cliff H. <email>
Kaiserslautern, Germany, USA  Sun 06/29/2008

Bastogne
This was the third huge battle of WWII in Northern Europe. From a quick look at the terrain, mostly rolling hills, it is impossible to understand how light infantry (101st) stopped armor. Be amazed at the audacity of the leadership to hold then be awed that the encirlement was broken in ten days. This should be a required visit for any citizen.
Lee <email>
Carmel, IN   USA  Fri 06/06/2008

Rome: Botanical Garden
The Roman Botanical Garden is located in the Travestere neighborhood.

My wife and I visited this beautiful park in early May 2008 and found it a completely refreshing and enjoyable. It was noticeably devoid of the throngs of tourists, full of shade, peaceful, and very informative.

There was a fascinating greenhouse full of hundreds of different species of blooming cacti, outside of the greenhouse there were ponds, Irises, a palm tree with a huge bloom, hills with views over Rome, and hundreds of different plants and trees, all well-laid-out and grouped in logical order. We spent several hours there. There is a reasonable fee and we were given an English map.

The park is just a few minutes from the Rick Steves' Travestere walk.

Note: Although all indications were that the greenhouses were closed at 1:00pm we found the greenhouse doors still open and people wandering around well after three pm.

It seems that it is closed in August.

Opening Hours: Winter hours: Tuesday- Saturday 9am-5:30pm Summer hours: Tuesday- Saturday 9am-6:30pm Greenhouses close at 1:00pm

Closing days: Closed in August

Phone: 06 49917107 Here are some links:

http://www.jacobite.ca/gazetteer/Rome/OrtoBotanico.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orto_Botanico_dell%27Universit%C3%A0_di_Roma_%22La_Sapienza%22

http://sweb01.dbv.uniroma1.it/ortobot/pag.php?scheda=pres&lang=ing
Peter McG
USA  Sat 05/31/2008

Medinaceli
On a recent trip to Spain we discovered the village of Medinaceli, which is about 100 km northeast of Madrid. It is three km off the Autovia on a twisty, narrow blacktop road with great views of the town sitting on its hilltop. The town itself is, to use a cliché, quaint. Like Carcassonne, it has narrow, twisting cobblestone streets, but it is not walled. It does, however, have a 2000 year old Roman Arch and the ruins of a Moorish castle. What it doesn't have is tourists; the day trippers have all gotten back on their buses for Madrid, leaving the town to the locals and two Americans (us)on a Harley-Davidson. Who could ask for more! We check into our B&B, a lovely place in a 500 year old stone building, with tile floors, beamed ceilings and owners who speak very limited English (as we find out very soon, this is true of nearly everyone we meet). Then we are off to explore the village and find a good place for some dinner. The streets are practically deserted; where is everyone? We soon find out; they are all in the bars, eating tapas and drinking wine. [Tapas are bite sized portions of seafood, salads, meat filled pastries, deep fried things and so on; if it's edible they can make a tapa out of it] With my limited command of Spanish and much finger pointing, we soon retire to a table with a plateful of assorted, unknown but hopefully tasty things and two big glasses of the local red wine. The entertainment tonight is several elderly gentlemen animatedly playing some sort of card game; apparently, the winner is the one who can slam the cards down on the table the hardest. We sit back and take it all in. What a trip! Afterwards, we wander back to our room to get some much needed rest. By the way, the church clock finally quits chiming the hours after midnight; don't expect to get any sleep until then.
Ash Morris
Tulsa, OK   USA  Wed 04/30/2008

London's best
Going to London with far less of a budget than originally planned. Looking for sugestions for London's best "freebies" - Thanks!
Denise Bouret
Quebec City, QC   Canada  Sat 04/26/2008

New Back Doors- Balkans!
Rick, Please feature Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Serbia. With the weak dollar, these places are the best value for American travellers. The nature is very unspoiled and beautiful. The beaches along the Adriatic are some of the finest in Europe; there are excellent places to ski as well (e.g., northern Montenegro, Bjelasnica in Bosnia, and one of the best in Europe- Kopaonik in Serbia). The food is amazing and the people are lovely. Also, there is rich history, both ancient and modern.
Courtney
Austin, TX   USA  Wed 04/02/2008

Must See in France
The Verdun River Gorges are absolutely spectacular. We based in the most charming town I have ever visited--Moustiers-Sainte-Marie--built into the side of the mountain in the south of France. The scenery is spectacular, the people are lovely, and the inns are beautiful (recommend La Ferme Rose). I don't think this area is unknown, but very few Americans I have spoken to have heard of it. It is one of the highlights of all my travels. (Be warned though: drive to the town is quite treacherous.)
Kristen
New York , NY   USA  Fri 03/21/2008

Bone Church in the Czech Republic
Here is a really cool story about this church outside Prague known as the "bone church". It sounds like a creepy but unique place to visit. http://noambit.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/the-day-had-alr.html
Steve
Seatle, WA   USA  Fri 01/04/2008